Working moms with older kids who chat with experts about navigating life for mature moms with older kids

Anita and Sheila are longtime friends. We are professional working women with three kids each - aged 12+ - and, like most parents, are being pulled in a million different directions. Sheila is a professional radio broadcaster, voice talent, and media educator. Anita is a professional digital/print content specialist with extensive experience in educational publishing.

Our podcast idea came to life after sitting around one summer day drinking sangria's as we talked about life. It was an outstanding idea while tipsy. We thought - we could talk about the crap WE experience - bring on experts to help us deal with it - and our like-minded target audience of working moms (45+) would benefit from the advice. Win Win!
 

See tipsy sangria drinking above for why.
Why podcast? The audio platform is the most intimate, and it is portable so it has extensive reach. I (Sheila) have worked in radio for 30 years, and have taught radio and the audio platform for 20 of those years. Podcasting goes where radio cannot - it allows for deeper, more genuine conversation. It is on YOUR timeline, not a hot-clock. Anita is a huge podcasting fan and consumer of audio during long commutes, so starting her own podcast was a very exciting venture for both her, and I.

Our initial goals and motivations were getting the podcast up and running ASAP. Our 'sangria revelation' happened in August, our first show was recorded a month later - and that episode was posted to SoundCloud by mid-October. Initially it was going to be a slow grow due to so many other commitments but it ended up being polished and primed within a couple of months. Our podcast is now available on most podcast platforms.
 

We do incur some costs, but initial funding for the podcast wasn't an issue because we started this as passion project. I (Sheila) have a home studio and am an audio producer - so equipment costs and editing were nil. Hosting and marketing costs are split and run about $500.00 a year. Anita's expertise in print and digital content has meant she takes care of the website, marketing, blogging, and social media.

We would love to release the podcast every 2 weeks, even weekly - but the reality of working moms plays into the podcast idea itself, and the logistics of being a podcaster. There are some months we do a monthly release, and some we do it bi-monthly.

With our families home due to the pandemic - we have resorted to recording remotely once every few weeks at 7 pm so our guests are available, our homes are quieter, and our WiFi is stronger!

Producing an episode is a quick turnaround if time is on our side (given the built-in expertise in that area).
 

Sponsorship is something we are hoping to secure. We have many ideas for a perfect fit for our target demographic and psycho-graphic - and right now, a segment in our podcast is called 'FAVE FINDS' in which we shout out companies or products we love just because we love them - sponsorship-free. We are hoping this mention in the episode, along with tagging them on social media, translates to future sponsorship partnerships.

As far as benefits of the podcast - it is professional practice for both of us. It is incredibly therapeutic - our guests have been very helpful specifically in the health and emotional wellness area. We are both avid life-learners and open to different perspectives and ideas - so we have learned a great deal from our guests.
 

We find guests through previous professional experiences, contacts, connections, and research.

We interview guests on all platforms - Zoom, Skype, WebEx, Google Meet, and phone.

To prepare the episode, the guest is researched, questions and script for entire episode and different segments are written.

Tools/Services - Recording and editing is done on Adobe; post production on Pro-Tools. In studio mics are Sennheiser and Shure with a PROFX8 mixer. Podcast is hosted on Libsyn.
 

Keeping in mind that this podcast started as a passion project, we are a grassroots operation when it comes to markeiting. Our listeners started as friends who told friend who told friends. We also work with guests for cross-promotion opportunities. FB and IG are our social media go-tos for gaining new listeners as well. We have a presence on Twitter, but that is not where our listeners seek us out. Our very first episode launched on SoundCoud, but we no longer use that platform. Listeners can download our podcast on iTunes (Apple Podcasts), Spotify, Google Play Music (YouTube Music), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, The Podcast App, and Libsyn Classic Feed.
The only paid marketing we have done to date includes advertising on FB and IG. FB paid advertising works to gain new followers and listeners, but IG advertising proved unsuccessful. We also hold Giveaways on both FB and IG where we partner with a guest during a given month (guests offer two free products--one for FB and one for IG--and we pay the postage, and run the Giveaways on social media. For Giveaways, IG has proven successful in gaining new followers and listeners, but FB Giveaways proved unsuccessful. Blogs are posted and newsletters are email-blasted with the release of each new show. These efforts don't appear to be effective in gaining a broader audience. Hoping these consistent efforts will pay off someday!
 

You can start simply - to get it out there, then build it up. It doesn't have to be perfect right at the beginning. It's a fun journey - shouldn't be stressful!

Have some direction - a script, outline - don't just randomly talk - what is 'next'. How will you wrap up?

Many great resources out there for podcasting start up - we have an FAQ on ELM Podcasting, and just read this which was really great: https://castos.com/podcast-studio-setup/
 

Our website with blogs, shows, social is www.momssippingsangria.com (FB @momssippingsangria | IG @momssippingsangria | Tw @sippingsangria)
Anita's personal website with social https://www.reikiwithanita.com/ (IG @reikiwithanita)
Sheila's personal website with social www.sheilawalsh.ca
Sheila's podcasting company www.elmpodcasting.ca